


Zero to a Hundred

by Jakobre_the_Writer



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Expanding on canon, F/F, To a point, mostly angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29176260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jakobre_the_Writer/pseuds/Jakobre_the_Writer
Summary: Or, two times that Yang controlled her emotions and two times she didn't.In, one, two, three, four. Out, one, two, three, four.If only things were so easy all the time.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 6
Kudos: 69





	Zero to a Hundred

**Author's Note:**

> Definitely a much angstier look at Yang than I usually take. I tried digging into how she might feel after a few key moments in canon and one imagined scene in Volume Eight.

Spending the evening tearing down the highway after a mech the size of a small house wasn’t exactly how Yang had expected tonight to go, but she wasn’t complaining either. Honestly, after all the excitement of shutting down Torchwick’s exports on the dock, training exercises at Beacon were a little boring, all things considered. She much preferred the quick paced excitement of Team RWBY’s extracurricular activities to fighting an Ursa in the school arena. Yeah, the crowds were nice, Yang wsa nothing if not a bit of a showboat, but it didn’t have any of the thrill that doing real Huntress work had. Or, at least, that Yang thought it had, she’d never been on a real mission. Those were reserved for the second years and it would still be a few months until RWBY got their turn. 

Then again, she thought to herself with a wince as Neptune and Sun were thrown aside by the mech and went careening off the highway, maybe they did need some more training. 

But there was no time to think of that as Yang heard Weiss over her scroll yelling, “I’m in position!” Yang had seen a lot of things since she’d started at Beacon, she’d seen her sister come out of her shell, which Yang was overjoyed with, had seen Blake lose her faith in the team, which had broken her heart, and had even seen Weiss apologize, which still felt like a fever dream. Seeing the mech slip on a patch of ice and crash right through the guardrails to the abandoned substructure below was almost so flabbergasting that Yang burst out laughing. But there hadn’t been time for that either. Instead she had skidded to a halt on Bumblebee and leapt off the side of the highway with her team, landing neatly in formation as the mech stumbled to its feet. Yang grinned, the thrill of a fight always making her light up, and soon the two sides rushed forwards.

Freezerburn, Checkmate, Ladybug, Ruby called them all with perfect accuracy, keeping the mech on its toes and the team out of harm's way. Even so Yang’s heart leapt into her throat every time that one of her teammates was in trouble, no matter how illogical it was. The entire team was skilled and powerful, they could take a punch from a machine. Things had been going perfectly, until Yang was caught out and hurled into the air. She gasped in surprise, then the wind was knocked out of her as the mech wound up and slammed a fist into her chest, sending her clean through one of the support pillars. 

Yang’s Aura held, even as her back exploded into pain in tandem with her chest. She pushed herself upright and slipped into a fighting stance, watching as the mech approached. The entire scene played in slow motion. Ruby was saying something, Blake had shouted in fear, but all that Yang could focus on was the machine she was here to destroy. 

Time to take the kiddy gloves off.

As the mech punched forwards again, Yang braced her legs against the ground, catching its massive fist with both hands. A shockwave exploded out behind her, making her hair flow like a golden fire, and she glared up at the cockpit with burning red eyes. With a mighty yell, she punched the mech’s arm, feeling the metal give way under her blow until the entire mechanism shattered. A victorious smile spread across her face, only to be cut off as the mech kicked. Yang yelped in pain and surprise as she was thrown backward, sailing past her team. As she flew through the air Ruby shouted, “Bumblebee!” and Yang’s grin returned. Most of the moves in Team RWBY’s arsenal were powerful, using misdirection, speed, or their semblances to keep an enemy on their toes, but Bumblebee was where Blake and Yang got to shine. 

Catching her teammate’s hurled weapon, Yang latched on, swinging wide as Blake anchored herself. Yang bellowed as she swung at the mech, which leapt backwards, the blow missing by inches. Yang snarled and wound up again, even as Ruby and Weiss shot chunks of ice into the mech’s exterior. Now well and truly slowed down, there was no getting away. She glanced at Blake, who nodded and Yang grinned, focusing on their objective. They moved as one, Blake hurling Yang fullbore at the mech. This time as her fist collided with the metal structure, the entire mech shattered into pieces, cogs, springs, and plates flying across the ground in a scattered mess. 

Torchwick stood up from the wreckage and Yang snarled again. This man had gotten away from them once. It wasn’t going to happen again. She shot a blast of dust at him, only to step back in surprise as a new player entered the game. A woman no taller than five feet landed lightly next to Torchwick, blocking the shot effortlessly with her parasol.

“Ladies, ice queen,” Torchwick said, which made Wiess shout ‘Hey!’ indignantly, “Always a pleasure. Neo, if you would.” The woman smirked at team RWBY, leaning forwards in a mock bow. That was enough mockery for one night, Yang decided, and she roared as she charged forwards, her fist slamming into the woman’s face.

The entire scene shattered like glass, a thousand thousand pieces smashing to dust on the pavement. Yang looked around in shock, her anger mounting as she searched for Torchwick and his half pint assistant, only to snap her head upwards as an airship took off. The ship vanished into the night, Torchwick and the woman even flying off with the door open, just to mock the Huntresses. Yang grit her teeth, her hands curling into fists as her rage nearly overwhelmed her senses. She wanted to shoot that airship down, rip the engines off, and punch that ice cream colored bitch and wipe that  _ fucking  _ smi-

No. Calm down. There was no need for that. Yang let out a long breath, one, two, three, four seconds, then inhaled for the same. She let her semblance fade, her hair returning to blonde as her eyes changed from red to lilac in an instant. Getting pissed off like that never helped anything. Besides, she was an adult. She could control her emotions better than that. “So I guess he got himself a new henchman,” Yang said, her fading anger making her voice gruff even as she tried to make light of the situation. 

“Yeah,” Weiss said, Myrtenaster already sheathed at her side, “I guess she really made our plans...fall apart?” That broke Yang’s anger entirely at that and she sighed in exasperation.

“No. Just-no,” she said, staring contemptuously at Weiss, who immediately put her hands on her hips. The conversation turned back to jokes and light comments about the fight, which Yang was glad for. It meant that she could control herself. She wasn’t the little girl who wandered into the forest searching for a mother who didn’t want her any more. She was an adult, who could keep her emotions in check. 

At three thirty in the morning, silence had never felt so deafening. Five minutes earlier Yang had snapped awake with a shout, flailing at the air as the images of a glaring red faded into the darkness of her childhood room. It took her a moment to remember where she was, breathing heavily as she looked around the room. She was back on Patch, after the fall of Beacon, after she had lost her arm, after-

No. She shook her head violently, throwing aside the warm blanket of drowsiness and any thoughts that would remind her of Blake. She had already cried enough over her partner in the daylight, it would be a shame to sour what little time she had that was supposed to be restful. It was agonizing to be back home, Yang had realized, feeling like her heart was tearing itself in two as she settled into the same doldrums that she had left behind when she headed to Beacon. 

Get up. Eat. Chores. Eat. Sleep. That was what Yang’s life had been reduced to. She almost preferred burying herself in a long, boring schedule than having free time cooped up in her room like right after she’d gotten back. That had been too much time alone, too much time to think. There were too many things to remind her of Beacon in her room, things that she had pushed out of sight or thrown under her bed. The small stuffed dragon that Ruby had gotten her when they were kids was shoved under her pillow, the hair care kit that Weiss had bought her during one of their trips to downtown Vale was buried under a dozen empty bottles of shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom, and the books that-She tried to stop herself from thinking it, but Yang was nothing if not thorough and the thoughts pushed through regardless.

Yang had thrown all the books Blake had given her or lent her into a disorganized pile in the corner. It was easier than staring at them, the beautiful covers and poetic prose therein unable to tempt her to read if they were out of sight. At least, that was what Yang told herself, but she still found herself holding one every so often,  _ The Man with Two Souls _ ,  _ Ninjas of Love _ ,  _ The Princess and the Warrior _ , all of Blake’s favorites, now tossed aside.

Gods if only it was so easy to throw aside her feelings for Blake. Yang had tried to bury them like she did her wandering thoughts, through work and sleep, but it hadn’t helped. Her mind, her heart, her soul, were still too focused on Blake and the rest of team RWBY to move on easily. Every little thing reminded her of them, a tinge of red in the sky was Ruby, a chill in the morning air was Weiss, even the darkness of her room was Blake. She’d thought that it would be easier to move on now that Ruby had left for Haven, but instead she was having nightmares even more frequently. Where once she had been able to ignore the pang of worry in her heart as to what was happening with Weiss and Blake, now it was twice as powerful. Ruby was safe with Jaune, Ren, and Nora. They were excellent fighters and Yang knew that they would never let anyone they cared about be hurt, but Yang still looked out at the horizon in the early morning or late at night, wondering where they were.

She would shake those thoughts aside as well and go back to chores of sleeping or anything to distract herself but right now it was impossible. Her entire room was pitch black aside from the light of the moon, shining a pale yellow light in the early spring. Yang sighed and tucked her knees up to her chin, burying her face against them in the hopes that she might be able to block out the thoughts that always came with nights like these, the surge of emotion that she knew would follow.

Blake had always loved nights like this.

“Fuck off!” Yang shouted, head snapping up and glaring out the window at the moon, her breaths ragged and heavy. She tried to breathe in like she’d been taught, the long, low breaths, but her lungs refused to let her as her chest heaved against her knees, the moon shining down dispassionately. “Can’t you just let me sleep? Please I just...I don’t want to remember her!” 

Were she fully awake or had she been paying attention to what she was saying instead of giving her emotions the release they needed, like opening a sieve, she might have been ashamed of the way her voice broke as she said that. It was a lie, she knew it was a lie, but still she persisted, trying to convince herself of an impossible reality.

“She left us,” Yang mumbled, tears welling up in her eyes as she stared at the amber moon, “She left me and I want-I want to pissed at her! I want to be angry with her but I can’t!” Footsteps pounded down the hallway as she yelled into the empty room, to the passive sky above, her father racing to her side. Yang yelped as her door burst open, her hands fumbling into a feeble defense as a sickening crimson flashed before her eyes and a jolt of pain lanced up her arm.

“Yang!” someone yelled and it took Yang a moment to recognize them as her father, who wrapped her up in a hug so quickly she didn’t have time to react. “I’m here,” he said softly and Yang burst into tears, her emotions overwhelming every wall she’d ever built, smashing through every dam, and flooding every river, leaving her aching and hollow as she poured out her feelings for Blake in the form of tears. “It’s okay sunflower,” Tai murmured, “I’m here. I’ve got you. You’re safe.” 

“I-I just-” Yang choked out, taking a deep breath to try and clear her throat to speak, “I miss her dad. I miss her so fucking much.” Tai sighed softly and nodded in understanding.

“I do too. But Ruby’s got some good people she’s traveling with, and you know your sister. She can take care of herself.” Yang burst into a fresh wave of tears at that, the thought that her sister was a thousand miles away in Grimm infested territory, and here she was crying in bed. She blinked hard to clear her eyes, staring over her father’s shoulder as her gaze settled on the pile of books in the corner. One had fallen off the pile during Tai’s rush into the room,  _ The Princess and the Warrior _ sitting in a pale amber spotlight as the moon poured in through the window. The rings of the character’s hands glowed gold in the light.

“Yeah,” Yang choked out, “Ruby.”

  
  


Brunswick Farms was getting to her. That had to be it. Yang huffed as she curled up in a blanket near the couch, a barely hidden glare directed entirely at the fire in the living room. Blake was nearby, having slipped inside after her. Yang could hear her shuffling awkwardly in the doorway to the living room, muttering to herself as she did so. 

Yang wanted to forgive her. Gods alive, she wanted to forgive Blake so fucking badly it was burning a hole in her heart, but forgiveness had never been one of Yang’s strong suits. She got it from Raven, or at least that was what Tai said when she was a child, but Yang much preferred the idea that she had picked it up from Summer. That woman could hold a grudge like most people held a breath, with such a burning intensity that she remembered the sensation forever. Summer had taught her children to forgive and forget, even if Yang could remember Summer grumbling about someone who had slighted her when she was all of seven years old. At the very least, Yang wasn’t that bad, but she was stubborn. That much she knew she’d gotten from her father. 

“Hey Blake,” Ruby said softly, and Yang glanced over her shoulder to see Ruby and Blake out of the corner of her eye, “You okay?”

“I’m just tired,” Blake muttered, “I’m going to take a nap.” She turned to go, heading up the stairs with thudding, discouraged steps, only pausing when Ruby called after her,

“Bundle up, okay? It’s pretty cold up there.” 

“I will. Thanks Ruby,” Blake said with a sigh before heading up to their commandeered rooms. Yang turned back to the fire, staring into the flames and beyond to the embers that refused to go out. If Yang had been a poet, she might have said that the embers were like her feelings for Blake, the budding love that she knew she wouldn't be able to deny forever. They were just as stubborn as she was, pulling her through the worst months of her life even if she refused to accept how badly she had missed Blake after the fall of Beacon. But she wasn’t a poet, that was Weiss’ territory, so Yang simply marveled at the ember’s stubborn beauty and tried to ignore the way her chest felt like it was tearing itself in two as she fought back welling tears. 

“You two talked?”

Yang looked up with a small grunt of surprise to see Ruby sitting on the arm of the couch, a concerned frown on her face. A heavy sigh escaped Yang’s lips and she turned back to the fire, tucking her blanket tighter around her body. “Yeah, we did,” she muttered, “It didn’t go well.”

“I noticed,” Ruby said softly, resting a comforting hand on Yang’s shoulder. Yang gently leaned into the contact, but it was almost a half measure. She didn't’ want comfort right now, she wanted-she wanted- Gods alive, she didn’t even know where to begin. There were so many emotions bubbling in her chest and thoughts bouncing around her head that she was almost too overwhelmed to move. She might have frozen up entirely, even with the heat of the fire and her own body, Had Ruby not asked, “Are you two going to be all right?”

“I don’t know, Rubes,” Yang murmured softly, wishing that she could sink into the floor to avoid this conversation entirely, to avoid facing Blake after storming off like she had. “It’s complicated.”

“Just talk to her about it,” Ruby said as though it were the simplest thing in the world. Yang held back a derisive snort, replacing it with another sigh. She would never understand how her sister could come up with strategy and tactics as easily as breathing but not be able to comprehend how complex interpersonal relationships were. Then again, she had been Ruby’s only close friend before Beacon. There was still time to learn, Yang realized with a bitter grimace. 

“We did talk,” Yang grumbled, “We talked about Adam and my arm she-sh-She wanted to-'' The words lodged in Yang’s throat and refused to move, getting stuck in the tar of sadness and self deprecation that had dominated Yang’s thoughts since Beacon, which had only just begun to lift after they’d boarded the Argus Limited. Ruby saw her sister struggling and gently gave her shoulder another squeeze, sliding off the couch to kneel beside her.

“Breathe, Yang,” Ruby murmured and Yang nodded, beginning her count. In, one, two, three, four. Out, one, two, three, four. Rinse and repeat.

It took a good ten minutes for Yang to calm down, her heart pounding more normally now instead of like a drum solo in the rock music Ruby liked. She let out one last, long breath before she was able to speak once more. “She wanted to protect me, Ruby.” Yang didn’t need to look over to see Ruby’s furrowed brow and the confusion wafting across her face like a fog, she knew it well from doing homework together.

“Isn’t that the point of a team though?” Ruby asked softly, and Yang clenched her hand into a fist so quickly that she felt one of her fingernails snap against her Aura. She took another few long breaths to keep from snapping at Ruby, muttering,

“I don’t need to be protected. I don’t need to be looked after or treated like I’m gonna break. I can look out for my damn self.” Her voice turned from a soft mutter to a bitter growl halfway through and Ruby shrunk back a hair. Yang cursed softly, feeling the weight of her words boiling in her heart, and mumbled, “I want her to trust me to be careful, Rubes. That’s what I need from her. I need to treat me like a teammate, not baggage.” 

“Yang,” Ruby said in that way she had developed where Yang could tell she was trying her best to be the best team leader she could be, “You know that’s not what she meant.”

“But she said-”

“I heard you. She doesn’t think about you like that, none of us do. We know you can take care of yourself, you flipped a manticore and laughed at it. No one thinks you’re gonna break, Yang. But, just please,” A small whimper slipped into Ruby’s authoritative voice and Yang looked over in alarm to see her sister with tears in her eyes, “Please talk to her.” Yang felt a well of protective love surge in her heart and she reached out, gently wiping away Ruby’s tears.

“Okay,” she said with a small sigh, “As soon as we get to Argus, I’ll talk to her. I promise.” That seemed to satisfy Ruby and she leaned back, gently taking Yang’s hand in her own and giving her another reassuring squeeze. Yang smiled softly at her sister, then turned back to the fire. As soon as they got to Argus, she and Blake would hash this out, whatever this was. They were a team, and teams were always stronger together.

  
  


Yang had thought that she’d seen a lot of stupid things in her life, from Cardin trying to pick a fight with Weiss, to Nora trying to eat an entire household’s worth of pancakes in one sitting, but nothing had prepared her for this. The bomb was set, the whale was still, Cinder and the Hound were elsewhere and the rest of Salem’s fighters were either missing, incapacitated, or arrested, and yet the way out still wasn’t clear. From the heart of the massive Grimm there was only one entrance. On the far side of the chamber was the bomb, ready to detonate, Ren, who was masking the entire room, and Yang. On the other side, standing in the doorway and blocking their escape, was Harriet Bree.

“What are you doing?” Yang asked, hands clenched into fists at her side. Harriet was already in a fighting stance, exoskeleton deployed and her eyes flashing with yellow lightning. 

“I’m making sure you both go to jail,” she growled, rolling her shoulders. Yang’s eyes went wide and she gasped from shock and disgust all once, taking a step back. The beeping of the bomb reached her ears and she glanced over her shoulder nervously before turning back to Harriet.

“Are you serious? We need to go, this thing’s gonna go up any minute,” she said, gesturing at the bomb for emphasis, but Harriet refused to move.

“Not until you two are in cuffs,” the Ace Op snarled, reaching down to pat the two pairs of handcuffs at her side, “then we can get out of here and you can be tried for treason against Atlas.” A million thoughts flowed through Yang’s head like a bolt of lightning, a thousand different arguments about how ridiculous this all was, even Weiss’ two hour treatise on how they couldn’t be traitors, since they weren’t citizens, but Yang said none of that, only letting out a long, low breath. One, two, three, four. In, one, two, “Just give it up, Xiao Long,” three, four. Out, one, two, th- “I knew you kids were a bad idea. We could’ve saved Atlas by now if you hadn't shown up.” Th-three, four. In, one, t- “If you come with me and tell me where the rest of you are hiding, the general might let you off with a life sentence.” T-t-two-

No, this wasn’t happening today. Yang let her glare settle in fully, a gaze so intense and furious that Harriet lost her composure for a second. She regained it instantly, discipline stepping in where her emotions failed her, and said,

“The general will-”

“Would just shut up for a second?” Yang roared, the words echoing around the chamber so much that even Ren flinched. “Fuck off, with all of that! The general was going to send you and the rest of the Ace Ops in here to die, Harriet!”

“If that’s what it takes to protect Atlas, I’ll do it,” Harriet snarled, even as she took a step back, but Yang wasn’t having it right now.

“This was never about protecting Atlas, it was about protecting Ironwood. Don’t you get it? He’s going to sacrifice the entire fucking city of Mantle!” Harriet opened her mouth to respond but Yang cut her off, shouting, “He’s letting nearly a million people die and you’re still stupid enough to think that he cares about you? Harriet, you’re a weapon to him! He’d throw you away if it got him even a second of breathing room.”

“If that’s what it takes,” Harriet said again, her voice wavering for a moment before she shook her head with a growl, “Now stand down.”

“No,” Yang said, stalking towards Harriet until she towered over her, her eyes tinting red. “My sister, my best friend, the people I care about, and the woman I love are waiting for me and Ren to get out of this alive. The only reason they didn’t come in here themselves is because Vine and Elm are keeping them busy fighting Grimm. Now I don’t give a flying fuck what the general thinks about all this and I honestly don’t give a shit what you think either. Ren and I are going to walk out of this whale, without handcuffs.” She leaned in until she and Harriet were almost brushing noses, glaring straight into her eyes without a moment’s hesitation, even as Harriet’s gaze flickered to Ren and back. “And if you thought that we kicked your asses last time, you do not want to fight me when I’m pissed off.” That made Harriet gasp and she took a step back, leaving the door wide open. “Ren, c’mon,” Yang called over her shoulder, even looking away to drive home how unafraid she was of Harriet. Ren opened his eyes and let out a sigh of relief, then frowned as he saw his companions.

“Are you two all right?” he asked, making his way to the door. Yang glanced at Harriet, folding her arms over her chest with a huff.

“We’re fine here,” Harriet muttered, then turned on her heel and led the way out of the whale, stalking through the halls of flesh. Yang and Ren fell into step behind her, side by side, and Yang might’ve kept glaring at her back if Ren hadn’t reached out a hand and gave Yang’s arm a gentle squeeze. She hummed softly in acknowledgment, turning to see a small, reassuring smile on her friend’s face.

“They’ll be fine, Yang. They’re professionals.” Ren paused, a frown creasing his brow for a moment before he shook his head and said, firmly and without reservation, “We’re ready for this.” It took Yang a moment to realize who he was talking about and a small laugh broke the otherwise oppressive air of the whale’s interior.

“We’re stuck inside a giant Grimm with a bomb that can level a city behind us and you’re more worried about everyone else?” she asked with a weak, teasing smile. It was the best she could manage as she reigned in her anger, focusing on the mission instead. 

“Of course I am,” Ren said with a shrug, then, “So are you.” Yang froze, almost stumbling over Ren’s words as she tried to process them. It was only through sheer instinct that she kept moving forwards at all, staring in confusion as she worked through Ren’s words. 

Gods alive, he was right. 

“Oh,” Yang whispered. Ren patted her on the back reassuringly and then glanced ahead as Harriet settled into a jog.

“You two coming?” she yelled back over her shoulder, making Yang and Ren race after her. It was going to work out, Yang reminded herself as they ran, Ren was right. They were ready for this. She was going to hug her sister again, to tease Weiss again, to steal quiet moments and share soft smiles with Blake again. Things were going to be fine. Yang felt a smile break out across her face as she thought that, pounding her feet into the floor beneath her as she ran after Harriet, charging towards the exit of the whale. 

She was going to see Blake again. Gods, she would never be able to hide how in love she was. Somehow, the thought didn’t scare Yang nearly as much as it had before. 

**Author's Note:**

> Now I'm gonna go write some fluff. Oof.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty


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